Daughter of the Sky, Son of the Earth

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Fire

It had been four days since Mason had fallen unconscious. Three days since I had followed the glowing orb to the floor upstairs. But I still felt stuck in the memory. Alex had tried to follow me up the stairs, but she said I had stopped her and told her to stay with Mason. Truthfully, I could not remember saying such a thing. But what I could remember still made my skin crawl. 

...

I walked up the stairs alone. It was cold, dusty, and dark. If it weren't for the floating orb of light, I would not be able to see where I was placing my feet. 

The floor creaked slightly under my weight, and I stiffened, wishing the floor would not give in while I was up here. Curiosity killed the cat, right? Well, I didn't want to be that cat, but I did want to know what was going on and why I felt a strong, magical pull, calling me forward. 

"Where are you taking me?" I asked the orb as it stopped in front of a closed door. 

I stared into the orb and saw my reflection on it, but nothing else. I didn't know if I had truly expected to hear some sort of voice come out of it, but I felt a pang of disappointment as the orb moved once again. My eyes widened when I saw the bulb of light cross through the door as if it weren't even there.

Quickly, I grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open to follow the orb. It was floating by one of the walls on the other side of the room and I quickly made my way towards it. 

In here, it was much colder, and I could not help but shiver and wrap my arms around me. Not even my internal heat was enough to keep me warm. In fact, every time I exhaled, I saw a small cloud of breath form before it disappeared in the darkness. 

How could this place be much colder than the rest of the house? And why had the orb led me here? 

I sighed and shook my head as I stood next to the orb. My eyes locked on a picture hanging from the wall. It was covered in dust, and it had worn-out, yellowed edges but the image was still visible under the dust. 

Softly, I blew more of the dust away before pulling the picture from the wall and examining it closely. My eyes widened as I realized this was a picture of the gods and goddesses of Olympus. Or at least the council with the main gods. 

Zeus was sitting on his throne in the middle of everyone. He had a serious look on his face and on his right hand, I saw him holding a glowing thunderbolt. Next to him, was Hera. Her face looked neutral as she stared back at me with no emotions in her eyes. A gold crown was on her blonde head and she was wearing a white robe. 

As I looked at the rest of the picture, I recognized Athena and I guessed the man smiling in the picture holding a trident was Andrew's father, Poseidon. 

Suddenly, my eyes moved to the edge of the picture where two young adults were standing staring at each other. My breath hitched in my throat as I saw the woman in the picture. She was wearing black, leather clothing and on her back, I could see a bow and arrows while her dark hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail. But that wasn't what had caught my attention. No.

It was her face. She was... me. 

Or at least an older-looking version of me. 

My blood went cold as a supposition formed in my mind. It was my mother, Artemis. She had to be. Whatever I had expected, it wasn't this. At least not physically. I was so shocked as I looked at her that it took me a while to look at the person she had been talking to when the picture had been taken.

The man next to her was tall and strong. He had dirty blonde hair that reached his shoulders, but it was pulled back slightly to avoid it getting on his face. He was also carrying a bow and arrows on his back and my body stiffened slightly.

Was this Apollo? But he didn't seem to have any resemblance to Artemis. 

From what Barbara had taught me, Apollo and Artemis used to be inseparable, and they were opposites in some ways. Whilst Artemis hunted in the ground and moved on her feet, Apollo had the skies. But the most characteristic difference between them was their eyes. 

Artemis had silver eyes that seemed to shine with the power of the moon while Apollo had golden-colored eyes that held the warmth of the sun inside of them. In the picture, Apollo was laughing at something his sister had said and I could almost hear his laughter echo in the room. 

Shaking my head, I looked at the rest of the picture, looking for something, or rather, someone. I didn't know what Hades looked like, I had guessed he had some resemblance to me but after seeing Artemis, I doubted I looked anything like him. 

As my eyes scanned the picture, I saw more unfamiliar faces around the room and my eyebrows creased together when I saw another edge of the picture ripped and burnt. I could only see a dark stain cover whoever was underneath it. 

My heart fell when I saw the silver crown on its head but no face, no sign of who he was. But I knew. It was Hades. Someone had burnt him out of the picture. 

Sighing, I put the picture back on the wall and looked around the room. The orb of light was bright enough to illuminate the whole room but there wasn't much more to see. Like the rest of the cabin, all of the furniture had been covered and they had sheets of dust over them. 

A sudden shimmering light on the other side of the room caught my attention. Slowly, I moved forward and grabbed the blanket over the object before pulling it off. My eyes widened and I took a couple of steps back as I gasped and covered my mouth.

On the ground, was a statue of a girl sitting with her legs crossed in meditating position and her hands held up forward. Her eyes were closed and a peaceful, yet traumatized look was on her face. 

Without a warning, the orb of light moved towards the hands of the girl before floating softly onto her grasp. The light in the room brightened as the power of the orb seemed to be absorbed by the statue of the girl. 

I could see its power course all the way throughout the veins of the girl until it finally reached her eyes and she opened them, revealing two bright blue orbs of light in its place.

Shaking, I stumbled back and began to reach for the blade on my belt. 

"There's no need for that, child," the statue whispered, her voice was cool and controlled as her stone head turned towards me. 

My heart was thumping in my chest as I shook my head in disbelief, but I stopped reaching for my blade. 

"Who are you?" I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady.

"My name is Delphi. I am Apollo's oracle. I am the giver of prophecies. Whatever question you may have, I have the answers to them. If I tell you or not, that is up to me. I have my reasons for withholding information. Now, what is it you'd like to know, daughter of the night?" The oracle asked in a smooth voice that made the hairs at the back of my head stand. 

"How do you know who I am?" I asked slowly and the oracle smiled.

"As I said, I know everything, child. Your parents are the God of the Underworld and the Goddess of the Hunt. You were born for a special purpose. But you already know all that. So, what questions might you have?" She asked as her glowing eyes seemed to pierce into mine. 

"Where are we?" I asked as I stepped closer to the statue.

Delphi smiled and nodded her head. "This is a protected cabin. You can use your powers here without leaving a trace. It is a place that was built by Apollo, for his son and to make sure I kept him safe."

My eyes widened as I reached the oracle and I slowly sat down in front of her. "You mean, Mason is related to me? He's Apollo's son?" I asked in disbelief and the oracle nodded.

"Yes, he is. He's your cousin. And you two share a bond just like Artemis and Apollo do. Even if you're not twins, you're bonded and you will need to protect one another," she said softly.

I gulped and took a couple of breaths before talking again. There were so many questions in my mind. There were so many things I wanted to know but I didn't know where to start. 

"Is Andrew, okay?" I whispered as I looked at Delphi.

The oracle remained quiet and then nodded her head. "Yes, he is alright. But I must warn you, you might not like what is coming next."

Before I could ask what she was referring to, she continued. "I am not in any place to explain, child. It is best to let things happen."

"And can you tell me who's behind all this? What kind of power we're facing? And why?" I asked quickly. 

Delphi hesitated for a moment and then let out a deep breath. "I cannot tell you who you're facing. Not exactly, but I can tell you it's something dark, something powerful that attacks you from the inside out. You must be mentally strong as much as physically. The threats you're going to face are not all going to be tangible. This... was meant to happen because one of the gods caused it all so many centuries ago. You are fighting against the wish of revenge of someone who was deeply hurt," she explained with some urgency in her voice. 

"And are we going to win?" I said quickly.

The oracle didn't seem surprised by my question, and she shrugged. "That is up to you, I cannot point you in the right direction because then it would not work. You need to do this on your own."

Shaking my head in frustration, I got to my feet. "And what happens next? Are Mason, Alex, and I going to be sent on another mission? Are we meant to stay here and wait for Andrew and the other girl? What is our next move?"

"The boy will wake up soon. When he does, you need to tell him everything and try to be patient. He might not cooperate so willingly at the beginning. After that, you must head to the tallest mountain up north. There you will find more answers and you will finally get the chance to go home. You will be reunited with people from your past and there you'll be safe. Along the way, you must be careful, one wrong move could cost you your life," she said sternly as she looked at me fixedly. 

Pursing my lips together, I nodded. "Great. Well then, now that you're awake. Would you like me to move you downstairs with us?"

The oracle shook her head and smiled. "There's no need child. I know my time has come. The orb no longer has the power it used to all so many eons ago. It is my time to fade and join my ancestors. I had been waiting for you to come so that I could answer your questions before I left. It was a pleasure meeting you, Aileen. I wish you courage and strength for the path yet to come. Our paths may cross again in an unexpected way." And with that, the orb on Delphi's hands began to dim until its light faded into nothing. 

The statue stopped moving and the coldness of the room reached me once again. Shivering both in discomfort and coldness, I hurried out of the room and down the stairs. 

...

I hadn't said a word to Alex about Delphi, I wanted Mason to be awake so that I could tell them together. All Alex needed to know was that we were safe here and that we could stay here as long as we needed to. 

On the fourth day, a slight tremble woke me up from my sleep and I quickly sat up to look at Mason's stone-covered body. My eyes widened when I saw the dark stone begin to c***k and a slight light emerged from the gaps. 

Alex rushed to the living room from the kitchen and stiffened as she stood back. 

"I think it's time," I whispered, answering her unspoken question. 

"I'll get some blankets and food for him," Alex quickly offered as she retreated back into the kitchen. She didn't know what to expect and truthfully, neither did I. 

The ground shook once again, and I had to grab onto the armrest to keep from falling. The stone snapped again, its sound echoing around the cabin. 

Slowly, it started to fall all around the couch and Mason's still form was revealed under it. He looked pale and he was still unconscious, but he was breathing now. 

I got to my feet and made my way towards him before hesitantly placing my warm hand over his. Without a warning, Mason's eyes flew open as he inhaled sharply, and his green eyes landed on me. 

I smiled softly and squeezed his hand slightly. "It's okay. You're okay now. You’re safe."